Crankshaft Pulley sheared off

I was driving my SC yesturday and i suddenly lost my power steering so i pulled over and looked under the hood to see my crankshaft pulley sheared off. I have 3 of the 4 studs still stuck in the holes. What is the best way to get them out?? and then i have to replace those studs so what kind should i get? the pulley is still good but can i just put it back on once i get the bolts out? or will it do this to me again? this just frustrates the hell out of me because i mean it showed no signs before it went. can someone please help? i am from the grand rapids MI area and if anyone that knows what to do could show me that would be great. thanks. and any suggestions are greatly appreaciated
Matt

Unfortunate happening

Sorry to hear about the loss of the Crank pulley, that really does suck.

Unfortunately the only way that you are probably going to be able to get the studs out is to get what is called an EZ-OUT. this is a reverse thread stud remover.

The way that they work is you drill a small hole into the approximate center of the stud that needs to be removed. Then you insert the EZ-OUT into the hole that you drilled. Tap the EZout into the hole with a hammer, DON"T POUND IT TOO HARD!!! The EZ-OUT is Hardened Steel, and it could shatter, and then your problem will be 2 fold.

Once you have the EZ-OUT in the hole, you turn the EZ-OUT just like you were unscrewing the stud from the hole. The threads on the EZ-OUT are the reverse of the bolt threads, so the harder you turn the tool, the harder it grips the stud, and it should come right out.

Good Luck!

P.S. Check all of your other belt driven devices like Alternator, AC compressor, Air Pump, Power Steering Pump, etc. for hardness of turning to make sure that it wasn't any of them that helped to cause this problem.

Where can i get an EZ out?

Where do u think i should go to get and easy out? and about how much u think it will cost? do u know if auto zone rents them? well thanks alot for the help
Matt

Usually you can find them at NAPA, or other Auto parts stores, just tell them what you need.

I would recommend getting a set of them, they come in different sizes. They are immensely helpful if you ever break any more bolts.

As for the price, they can range from probably about $3-15 for a single, and probably about $30-100 for a good set.

You have to buy them, and if you are asking, you may struggle doing it.

You need to get the ez-outs of the proper size, and you need to get hardened drill bits of the right size (preferably reverse cutting drill bits). Then you need to drill into the broken bolts at a nearly perfectly straight line down the center.

This is drilling into a GRADE 8 bolt. It isn't fast, it isn't easy, but it's the only way.

another cheap way

Here's another way you might be able to take them out if you can't find that easy out. If you have a dremel take that and a small cutting wheel and grind a nice slit in the middle of the bolt and make it wide enough for a good screw driver tip to fit in there and there ya go it's a screw or you can also make it a phillips for extra strengh depending on how hard the bolts is to come out.

Raymond

that's an idea to consider when nothing else works or i just use it because it saves me money.

Yes, that could work. But if the bolt would have taken a 18" breaker bar on a 1/2" socket. I don't think a screwdriver will break it loose.

In fact, I think the factory used a thread locker on those bolts. Probably just the blue loc-tite though.

Only one prob

The only problem is that i cant even see the bolt. it is broke off in the hole so i couldnt get a dremel tool on it. so i need some way to get them out of the holes. i hope the EZ-out will work cause i called ford today for a suggestion and they said they would pull the engine to do it. and i DONT wanna go that route. but thanks for the advice.
Matt

Think i found out why they sheared

I think i may have found out why all the bolts on my crankshaft sheared off. when i was checking the other pullies i felt the power steering pulley and i could pull it out a little with my hand and it was kinda loose. my power steering did go out when i felt the crankshaft pulley go but i thouht that maybe it was because the belt just came off. but now that i think about it maybe the power steering pump seized up first then thats what made the crank pulley break all the bolts? does anyone have any suggestions? i guess the only way i will know is if i get those bolts out and put her all back togather and then put the belt back on and see it i got power steering or not. Oh and i was checking prices on power steering pumps and they have 2 options. do our cars have variable assist power steering or non variable assist power steering? well thanks again for all the help guys
Matt

SC's have varibale assist power steering. the power steering pump has a little electronic check valve on the output line that varies the amount of boost the pump provides.

I hate to tell you this but if those bolts are broken off inside the crank, then you will either have to pull off the radiator, intercooler, and any other obstruction in front of the crank pulley, or you will need to pull the engine. There is precious little that you will be able to do to those bolts except use the EZ-OUT tools on them. I recommend using a variable speed Drill, a center punch, and some very sharp drill bits.

1. Use the center punch to dimple each bolt in the approximate center.

2. Use the drill bit (it doesn't have to be a reverse drill bit) and drill into the bolt.
***Use a drill that is about 1/3 - 1/2 the size of the bolt diameter
***and drill at least 1/4 inch into the bolt that you want to remove.
3. Gently tap your selected EZ-OUT into the drilled hole (be sure to keep the EZ-OUT as straight in the hole as possible)
4. Take a socket, or a wrench that fits the end of the EZ-OUT and start unscrewing the bolt.

If the power steering pump feels very tight, then chances are that you need to replace it too. Do that before you try to restart the car with the new crank pulley. You don't want to have to repeat the above process if you don't have to.

Good Luck

thanks

yeah i am gonna take out the radiator and flush it since i will have it of anyways. and the intercooler will be coming off as well. that should open me up enough space to get at those studs. so do u think the easy out will work? and where can i get the replacement bolts? that wont break haha. and a mechanic told me that if i cant get them out that u could also weld it on and i want sure about that so i thought i would ask u guys. well thanks for all the help
Matt

Please tell me that you're joking.....

I strongly recommend that you DON'T WELD ANYTHING to the crank, or any other part of this engine for that matter.

As for bolts, you can get them from about anywhere. Try your local autoparts store, or try Jegs.com, or any other engine parts supplier.

I don't think they make indestructable bolts yet. If you find them, let me know. I'm also looking for a cordless eextension cord too....

To answer wether or not the ez-out will work, I've pulled all kinds of bolts out of some pretty nasty jams with an ez-out before, from rusted solid bolts to bolts that have the head stripped off, to bolts that are like the ones that you are describing on the crank pulley. EZ-outs are wonderful.

do u happen to know what size bolt they are so i can tell them? cause i dont even have the bolt to go match up haha

I am a little confused here, did you shear the four small bolts off that hold the crank pulley to the dampner, or did you break the large bolt in the center that holds the dampner to the crank ?

I seriously doubt that the power steering pump could cause this failure. The belt should slip, squeal like hell and then break.

BTW, neither require removal of the engine to fix. If it's the large bolt, buy a new dampner (comes with a new pulley) and a new bolt and replace the entire assembly.

If it's just the 4 small bolts that hold the pulley to the dampner, you can rent a puller and remove the dampner and then get the broken bolts out with an EZ out while on a bench. Or just replace the entire assembly with a new one, which is what I would recomend.

When the bolts are no longer in tension, they are usually not much more than hand tight. It won't take much to unscrew them.

David

crank bolts

Well he won't be able to take off that hamonic balancer because he still has three of the 4 bolts in there. As for room getting a dremel in there would be easier than a drill since it's hard to see if it's sentered. Also depends on how the bolts are sheered off. They might be rouned and you can't drill in the middle. It just depends and you never know how they will look after being broke off.

If your carefull and have two people doing this job you can take off the center harmonic balancer bolt the big middle one. Then if both of you can place two pieces wood under two crow bars to pry off the balancer but you need to have close to equal pressure on each side of the harmonic balancer to get it off. This would be last resort.

back to the dremel idea those bolts aren't really all that tight and even if they were. You can make a big enough slit for a good size flat head end. They do have attatchments for sockets for more force. I know for sure that you have room for this. you might have to remove your fan and radiator for more room though. You might also have to cut into the balancer a little but it works. just use a small cutting wheel. If you dont' have a dremel good luck with the easy out.

Hey give us a little more info. are they sheered off perfectly with the damper or more inside or out or what?

Heck if they are sticking out a quarter of an inch. You might even be able to get some vice grips on there as well and turn them out.

Raymond

Well what happened is that one of the studs were sticking out of the hole about 1/4 inch and i got that one out with a vice grip but the other 3 are in the holes about 1/8 an inch. so i am confused on how to get those out. i mean i got the EZ out but i cant see the studs to know where center is to get them out. i removed my fan and i might take out the radiator next. so what i have is one stud out and 3 others broke in the holes. hopefully this helps. and i think something is messed up with the power steering pulley because it will slide in and out a little if u pull on it. i dont think i would be able to get a dremel on the 3 studs though so i hope the easy out will work. thanks again
Matt

You will need a new balancer after removing those bolts. The balancers on the SC are very weak, so I would not trust one that had gone through that much trama.

Go to AutoZone and rent a harmonic balancer puller. Drill new holes in the balancer to thread the puller on and pull the balancer. Then replace the pulley/balancer assembly as a unit from Ford.

Aaron

Just an idea for getting a "visual" on the bolt centers.....On one of the three occasions that my balancer broke, the center bolt also sheared off. I removed the fan and rigged up a small hand mirror on a coathanger wire holder. I could then position my spotlight on the bolt and use the mirror to get a clear view. I thought it would be a real pain getting the balancer bolt out of the crank, but it turned out not to be so bad. The bolts on the pulley may be a little tougher because they are a smaller diameter.

here's another idea

If you wanted to use the dremel idea it would hurt to drill into the balancer i have done that many times and always worked for me.

Also here's another idea that just came to me. if you can rig two C clamps to go behind on both sides and have the scew in thingy taken out of both of them so you can put a bolt through them on both sides. On the puller the two end bolts you use will have to have nuts and a good size spacer to go through the holes in the c clamps that you took out the tightening thingy. You will need a certain size c clamps to start will. Since this will make it all site back farther you will need to use a socket on the end of the crank puller to extend it so it won't bottom out. From here try to screw it out. You might need two people to. One to keep the two c clamps on and the other to turn the crank puller.

Some thing to this effect will work. you just need to improvice. Go to a hardware store and just emagine what what will work.

Raymond

PS there's always the long crow bars on both sides of the crank pulley with two people one on each and a block of wood for each person to put against the crossmember frame. Well of course the car will have to be high enough.